A Gentle Anthem of Resilience, a Profound Look at Love and Perseverance in the Face of Heartbreak.
By the mid-1970s, the band Poco was a living testament to the tumultuous, often heartbreaking, drama of the music business. A seminal force in the creation of the country-rock sound, they were a band defined as much by their fluid lineup as by their soaring harmonies. They had lost founding members, faced commercial setbacks, and were at a crossroads, needing a hit to validate their existence. It was in this moment of high-stakes uncertainty that they released the album Head Over Heels in 1975. And on that album, a song emerged that became a gentle anthem for a generation, a powerful statement of resilience that perfectly mirrored the band’s own journey. That song was “Keep On Tryin’.” It was a quiet triumph, a single that, while not a chart-topper, became their highest-charting hit to date, reaching a respectable number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its power lay not in its brief flirtation with the mainstream, but in the raw, emotional truth of its message.
The story behind “Keep On Tryin'” is a deeply personal and poignant one. The song was written by bassist Timothy B. Schmit, a man who had not only weathered the band’s constant lineup changes but was now facing the daunting task of keeping their fragile musical entity intact. While the lyrics speak directly to the struggles within a romantic relationship, the song is a clear reflection of the band’s own drama. It is a heartfelt monologue from a place of deep concern and empathy. The song’s central message—that even when things are falling apart, the most courageous thing you can do is to “keep on tryin'”—was a direct reflection of Poco’s own desperate need to stay together. It was a plea to their members, to their fans, and to themselves to not give up, to fight for a future that seemed increasingly uncertain.
The lyrical drama of the song is a powerful, two-way conversation between two people on the brink of heartbreak. The gentle, acoustic guitar that opens the track sets a somber mood, a moment of quiet reflection before the emotional storm. The lyrics themselves are a raw, unvarnished confession, filled with phrases that capture the sense of a love on the verge of being lost. Then, as the song progresses, the legendary harmonies of Poco enter, not with aggression, but with a beautiful, shared sorrow. The voices of Paul Cotton, Rusty Young, and Timothy B. Schmit weave together, creating a sound that is a dramatic representation of two or more people trying to find a fragile unity amidst discord. Their voices don’t just sing; they express a shared pain and a desperate, collective hope that words alone cannot convey. The song’s emotional climax is not a soaring guitar solo, but a powerful, unified vocal plea that makes the listener feel the weight of their effort.
For those of us who came of age with this music, “Keep On Tryin'” is more than a song; it’s a profound reminder of a time when music could be both deeply personal and universally relatable. It’s a nostalgic echo of a time when a band’s struggles could be transformed into a work of art that spoke to the deepest parts of our hearts. The song remains a timeless and profoundly emotional anthem, a quiet masterpiece that reminds us that in love, as in life, the most important battles are often the ones you fight for the people you believe in. It stands as a powerful piece of art, a beautiful and poignant tribute to the resilience of the human spirit.